FRENCH President Emmanuel Macron is preparing to backpedal on the issue of creating an official First Lady position for his wife in the face of attacks from left-wing opponents and a petition against the move, officials and reports said.

The newly elected 39-year-old president had promised in March on the campaign trail to create “a real status” for his wife Brigitte, who is his former schoolteacher.

The issue has become a new political headache for Macron after an online petition against creating the role garnered around 270,000 signatures and an opinion poll also showed a majority of French people were opposed.

Crashed aircraft found

AN Australian Navy survey ship has located a U.S. military aircraft that crashed off the Australian northeast coast over the weekend and left three Marines missing.

The navy divers will conduct remotely operated underwater vehicle operations before considering sending down divers, Payne said in a statement.

The U.S. Marine Corps had suspended a search for the three Marines missing since the aircraft crashed while on regular operations Saturday.

10 injured on flight

TEN people were injured after an American Airlines flight from Athens, Greece, experienced “severe turbulence” prior to landing at Philadelphia International Airport on Saturday.

4 Iranian soldiers killed

AT least four soldiers were killed and eight injured when one of their colleagues opened fire on a military air base in southern Tehran on Sunday, the Iranian military said in a statement.

The incident was “probably related to psychological problems of the soldier who suddenly started firing on his comrades,” the statement said.